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Right about the time Ron Paul’s passionate supporters took over the Nevada Republican Party at a raucous state convention 10 days ago, the phone at the Las Vegas office of Americans for Prosperity began to ring.

The callers were potential donors and volunteers — typically the critical foot soldiers for a party apparatus geared toward electing Republicans.

But instead, these willing workers were calling Americans for Prosperity, a political nonprofit organization created outside the regular Republican Party confines to further conservative causes.

“People want to donate their money to organizations that can deliver on their promises,” AFP’s Nevada director, Adam Stryker, said of the calls that were peaking at around noon on that convention Sunday.

The standard bearer for Republicans this cycle may not be the state party, which is the traditional and seemingly logical organization backing GOP candidates up and down the ticket.

It’s in no small part because the establishment and donors have little confidence in the state party’s ability to operate, GOP activists said.

“We’re a battleground state. There will still be a significant amount of money spent here,” said Robert Uithoven, a GOP consultant. “(But) the money will be spent around the state party and not through it. And that’s never a good thing.”

One Republican elected official said, “If Republicans win this election, it will be in spite of the state party, not because of it.”

Paul’s supporters slowly began infiltrating the party organization four years ago, electing members to positions on the county and state boards and backing a new state chairman. The effort culminated at the May 5 state convention, when Paul’s supporters succeeded in electing a majority of Nevada’s national delegates and installing Paul loyalists as national committeeman and committeewoman.

The stakes in Nevada are high. The state is one of a few toss-ups in the presidential race. The U.S. Senate race, between Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, is expected to be close. There’s at least one competitive congressional seat, where Rep. Joe Heck, R-Las Vegas, faces Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas. And Democrats and Republicans are fighting over control in the state Senate.

Unlike Republicans, Democrats, under the strong hand of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, have spent years building up the state party, registering voters and building an impressive voter file. Democrats raised $9.7 million in 2010 and $11 million in 2008, according to a Democrat strategist.

Republican elected leaders, meanwhile, skipped the state convention in Sparks earlier this month and have shown little willingness to get into the muck of rebuilding the state party.

Instead, Republicans such as Gov. Brian Sandoval have helped raise money for other groups, such as the Washoe County Republicans and state Senate Republicans.

The state parties have traditionally played three roles in the political campaigns: registering voters, identifying supporters and turning them out to vote.

This year, Americans for Prosperity has already started to take over that effort.

The organization has had a full-time operation in Nevada since a special congressional election in 2010, identifying voters and building a voter list, Stryker said.

But Paul’s supporters come in with little track record. The new party chairman, Michael McDonald, was dogged by old ethics scandals and a controversial land deal recently with Las Vegas City Hall. (He did not return calls for comment.) And they’ve spearheaded efforts to replace its executive director, Dave Gallagher, who is well regarded by campaign operatives, with a Paul supporter.

All of those factors have caused traditional Republican supporters to back away from the party.

“It has become evident after the convention that the new leadership for the party is not interested in getting Republicans elected as much as moving an ideology forward,” said Mendy Elliott, a longtime Republican and fundraiser for the Washoe County Republican Party. “The purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected and register Republicans. Until that focus is shifted back, it’s hard for mainstream Republicans to understand the purpose of the party.”

Romney and the Republican National Committee opened a Las Vegas office on Saturday under the Team Nevada name. It was on the other side of the Las Vegas Valley from state party headquarters.

But a good sign: The new chairman of the state party, McDonald, spoke at the opening.

Darren Littell, spokesman for Team Nevada, said, “We’re willing to work with anyone and everyone who wants to make Barack Obama a one-term president.”

But does the new leadership of the party want to elect Republicans? It’s a legitimate question, even if it’s somewhat stunning that it has to be asked.

Carl Bunce, chairman of Paul’s Nevada campaign who was elected as a delegate to the national convention, said yes.

“The state party will do what it has always tried to do — get Republicans elected,” he said. “There might be new characters in the fold, and there might be a learning curve.”

But, he said, he expects the Republicans in place to execute their responsibilities.

Bunce said he still sees a path to victory for Paul to get the nomination.

“By the time we get to September, November, it will be ironed out at that point,” he said.

Of course, that’s four months away. During that time, Democrats and President Barack Obama’s campaign will be pounding on Republicans and Romney.

Sig Rogich, a Republican consultant, said he expects Romney’s campaign team to take the reins.

“The party will be successful if the nominee for president comes in and takes hold of the party apparatus,” he said.

As for the role of a state party controlled by Paul supporters, he said: “I think they’ll offer them the opportunity to participate within guidelines. If not, they’ll fund it on their own.”

Bob List, a former Nevada governor and a national committeeman who was replaced at the convention, said the system has worked best when governors have played a strong role with the party.

“Sometimes, the governor or senior public official will go to the mat on it,” he said. “Here, that simply didn’t happen. This is not the preferable way to run it, in my judgment. In an ideal world, the governor would be consulted on the selection of party officials.”

(Mike Slanker, political consultant for Sandoval and Heller, did not return requests for comment.)

List said one of his primary jobs was to raise money — $1.24 million in the past three years.

“It takes a lot of effort, a lot of time and energy,” List said. “And we’ll have to see how this plays out under the new regime. I don’t know how they’re going to go about it or who’s going to take the laboring oar.”

CORRECTION:This story has been edited to correct the spelling of Mendy Elliott's name. | (May 16, 2012)

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"All of those factors have caused traditional Republican supporters to back away from the party." GOOD!!! Take you dirty money and get outta here! Your trash! If you weren't to busy trying to protect your "assets", Obama wouldn't have been elected last time. You had your chance and blew it. The good ol' boy's GOP is dead!!! ONLY Ron Paul 2012!!!

With Michael McDonald as the latest in a succession of tweedle dees and tweedle dums, what do you expect? It's more of the same from people who cannot operate their own political party but would have us believe they can operate the State of Nevada.

Kinda makes you wonder what this says about the State of Nevada...and its voters.

The problem is that Ron Paul supporters are a minority. They are a minority in the Republican Party and in the overall electorate. Paul supporters having failed to win acceptance in the primary process now think that by gaining control of state Republican organizations they can somehow force the majority of the Republican party and the electorate to accept their political views when in reality, Ron Paul's political views are outside of the main stream and are only supported by a small minority of voters.

What a mess! The Nevada GOP's credibility went into the toilet. McDonald is a horrible choice for a leader. No wonder the Paulies took over. So let me see, they try to screw up the convention and vote for a nut case that does not stand a snowball's chance in hell of being elected to the presidency. A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for obama! Congratulations!

Republican OG's and Washington Beltway insiders will do anything to isolate and demonize the insurgent wings of Paulistas and TeaParty folks. Not a Republican and never will be but remembering Chicago and the conflicts in the Democratic Party I wish these folks well as they attempt to bring renewal to the GOP.

Conservatives must bypass the state GOP until they come to their senses and remove McDonald. We can still support GOP candidates without involving those who took over the state orgnization for their own personal gain; http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/TheM...

Prez Barry is going to win in a landslide for reasons I'm not allowed to put into print and we are just going to have to live with it.On a positive note we don't have to worry about Ron Paul in 4 yrs. because he will be waaaay to old to run[unless mummys can run]!

Mendy Elliott's comment says it all about what the party establishment does not get,"The purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected" We do not just want to get Republicans elected, we want to get Republicans elected that will stand up for the principles the party was founded on. Things like the Patriot Act, raising the debt ceiling and Obamacare would not have ever been enacted without the support of Republicans in Congress whom were told overwhelmingly by their constituents not to vote for them but did so anyway. Now that we the people have had enough and are going to actually change things, you are whinning. Too bad, you should have started listening to us a long time ago.

This article really makes me laugh. I love the words used by the author like "Nevada Republican Party at a raucous state convention". The only thing that was raucous about it was the fact that the moderator, and several other speakers who were taking the votes could not hear very well. Aye's became Nays, and vice versa if it wasn't what they wanted to be approved.

This article shows they are running scared, and they should be. Making a comment like "That takeover has donors and party officials nervous that the new party organization will be more concerned with nominating Paul, or pushing his libertarian philosophy, than being the backbone of the GOP election effort."

The philosophy of all UNITED STATES citizens should be to UPHOLD the CONSTITUTE and the BILL OF RIGHTS!" It almost sounds like they would prefer to condone the BANKSTERS, support AGENDA 21, and become part of the NEW WORLD ORDER!

The author himself needs to chose what side of the fence he is really supports. Some of his comments are very contradictory to his headline. "INFILTRATORS???...ERODE???" It also appears that someone has a real "hard on" for Michael McDonaldal, the comment and references made to him are just hype, and nothing appears to be illegal. Who cares where the money came from, the deal is done, and as long as the property goes toward the proposed purpose what is the big deal, just another attempt to slur someone.

Times are changing folks. WAKE UP...or you will be living in a FEMA CAMP scratching your head and wondering "WHAT HAPPENED"..stop watching the MEDIA'S portrayal and listening to their opinions. Do your HOMEWORK and find out for yourself whether you want your FREEDOM and LIBERTY, or you want to live under the control that is slowly infiltrating our lives day after day. GMO'S, stashing grains and seeds that are not modified, FIAT MONEY, worthless currency we are using. THERE IS PLENTY of GOLD and SILVER to get this economy and our USA back on it's feet, and the remaining the FREE COUNTRY WE LOVE. The Yucca Mountain issue being reintroduced by Gary Hollis and Mark Amadei after it was already a dead issue. These people appear to want to stuff their pockets a bit more, not really caring about the health issues that that projects has and still presents to our communities. Look up ERIONITE, everyone up North is suffering from respiratory disorders and know one seems to figure out why. I suspect it is ERIONITE, which is cancer causing, that was disturbed when they began the Yucca Mountain project years ago.

WAKE UP PEOPLE, PAY ATTENTION, do your HOMEWORK! It is your lives, your children and grandchildrens futures at stake!